They resolved that “restoration of the artwork is not a high priority for the council, but nevertheless a minimal amount of officer time will be provided to clarify the governance issues necessary to enable the Friends group to apply for major grant funding to restore the artwork as the lead partner with the council”.

If the money can’t be found, the council will revert to its original idea of improving the gardens without restoring the artwork.

The Tasting Gardens had been earmarked for removal after suffering vandalism and falling into disrepair.

Members of the Friends of the Storey Gardens were split on whether to back plans to remove the dilapidated piece of art.

The artwork was originally four paths forming branches of a tree, each leading to a bronze sculpture of a fruit on a plinth. But the metal fruits – an apple, cherry, plum and a pear – were stolen several years ago.

Mark Dion was commissioned in 1998 as part of ArtTransPennine 98, a collaboration between Tate Liverpool and the Henry Moore Trust to exhibit 40 artworks at sites from Liverpool to Hull. The artwork was open to the public from 1998 until the Storey shut temporarily in 2006.